Merv

What a trip across the desert ! We have arrived in Merv, 350 km from Ashgabat and are staying with a family in their little guesthouse. It is an oasis (a real one) with a small central courtyard covered in grape vines. Somehow there is a cool breeze which is wonderful because the desert was incredibly hot and dry. It was 34 in the carpark at Ashgabat at seven this morning and we hit 42 degrees at one pm today. The roads are a mess and we felt every pothole that Claude crashed into, marvelling at how the suspension system was still attached to the car. We tried not to think about breaking down in that cauldron. We filled our jerry can with petrol today because we heard that petrol in Uzbek is expensive... possibly up to 50 nz cents a litre. We have been paying 14 cents a litre here in Turkmen, up from six cents a litre in Iran so its getting worse. It now costs $2.80 to fill up compared to $1.20 in Iran. Outrageous. Off to see if we can find a beer and a TV. It's the world cup final tonight. Surely there will be a TV ? Cheers, G&M

11 Jul 2006